Royton
| Royton | |
|---|---|
 Royton Town Hall |
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 Royton
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| Royton shown within Greater Manchester | |
| Population | 21,284 (2011;Census) |
| OS grid reference | SD919078 |
| • London | 165 mi (266 km) SSE |
| Metropolitan borough | |
| Metropolitan county | |
| Region | |
| Country | England |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | OLDHAM |
| Postcode district | OL2 |
| Dialling code | 0161, 01706 |
| Police | Greater Manchester |
| Fire | Greater Manchester |
| Ambulance | North West |
| EU Parliament | North West England |
| UK Parliament | |
Royton (pop. 21,284(2011)) is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, in Greater Manchester, England. It is situated close to the source of the River Irk, near undulating land at the foothills of the South Pennines, 1.7 miles (2.7 km) north-northwest of Oldham, 3.2 miles (5.1 km) south-southeast of Rochdale and 7.6 miles (12.2 km) northeast of the city of Manchester.
Historically a part of Lancashire, Royton and its surroundings have provided evidence of ancient British, Roman and Viking activity in the area. During the Middle Ages, Royton formed a small township centred on Royton Hall, a manor house owned by a long succession of dignitaries which included the Byrons and Radcliffes. A settlement expanded outwards from the hall which, by as late as 1780, "contained only a few straggling and mean-built cottages". Farming was the main industry of this rural area, with locals supplementing their incomes by hand-loom woollen weaving in the domestic system.
Royton has the distinction of being the first town where a powered cotton mill was built; at Thorp in 1764, and is one of the first localities in the world to have adopted the factory system. The introduction of textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution facilitated a process of unplanned urbanisation in the area, and by the mid-19th century Royton had emerged as a mill town. At its zenith, there were 40 cotton mills—some of the largest in the United Kingdom—employing 80% of the local population. Imports of foreign cotton goods began the decline in Royton's textile industry during the mid-20th century, and its last mill closed in 1998.
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